Monday, 28 January 2008

Sunday Kitchen

Come Sunday there is no excuse to not fill the house with wonderful aromas. It’s the perfect day for food that takes just a little bit longer. Some weekends, however, you don’t want to be chained to the kitchen yet still crave the deeply flavoured fare that only comes with slow cooking. Those are the Sundays I set an intensely flavoured stock to simmer in the morning, inhale its delicious aromas throughout the day and return in the evening to find the perfect base for a deeply comforting dinner.

This is not your standard nursery food stock of carrots and celery, although that certainly has its place. This aromatic beef broth with hints of South-East Asia and layers of spice is the perfect beginning for a quick noodle soup or a slow cooked hotpot filled with meltingly tender meat. In the colder months I favour the latter but while the weather is still pleasant I like to pair it with quickly grilled transparently thin slices of tender marinated beef. While I can’t make any promises as to authenticity I can assure you of the sort of deliciousness that has your scraping the bowl for that last spoonful of broth.

Place your chicken bones in a large pot and fill with enough cold water to cover the bones completely. Bring the water to the boil and add the remaining ingredients except the noodles and fish sauce. Turn the heat down to the smallest whisper, cover with a lid and leave to infuse over the course of the day. For a quicker stock you can turn the heat up to a simmer and leave for just 30 minutes.

When you are ready to eat skim the stock and strain. Season with fish sauce to taste. Return to the heat.

Prepare the rice noodles according to package instructions. These usually require you cover them with hot water until they are softened.

While the noodles are softening, on a grill pan or bbq briefly sear the scotch fillet on the highest heat. The meat will continue cooking once added to the soup so you are only seeking a charred exterior with a meltingly pink interior. 2 minutes per side should suffice.

Drain the noodles and add them to the pot of warm broth. Slice the beef as finely as possible.

To serve divide the noodles between two bowls and ladle over the broth. Arrange the beef slices on top and scatter with bean sprouts, chilli, coriander and spring onions. Serve with lemon wedges.

BTW thanks for dropping by the Vanilla Slice Blog - glad you enjoyed it. I have two more posts to put up this weekend, and continuing on the Aussie icon theme, I have just done my first piece for a collaborative Meat Pie Blog...

I agree about Sundays, though I always feel a bit embarrassed on the Monday morning when people ask what you did with the weekend and I have to honestly respond "I spent it cooking". I love the vietnamese-style soup you've posted - I get acute cravings for it every so often, and I think you may have just induced the need for a pho hit!

Very tempting indeed! I love filling our home with aromas of something savory stewing away on the stove for a few hours. I especially love it during the warm days when the windows are open and these aromas drift over to the neighbors. Always a fun conversation follows!Very nice photo!

The method is different in that the water is boiled and then the bones are added. She was adamant that the meat should not come in contact with cold water.

The onion is sliced finely and the ginger is grated. Both are then mixed together with a splash of the wine, before charring over high heat until slightly burnt, before adding to the stock. You need the caramalisation for depth of flavour.

We don't pre-roast the dry herbs but add them to the stock wrapped in a muslin bag. You boil the lot for 20min and then simmer for 4hours, skimming off any fat as you go.

At the end we take out the gravy beef and slice it - it should be buttery tender and is a different meaty texture to complement the fillet steak.

We add a little fish sauce when plating up, and Hoi Sin sauce is offered as an accompaniment with Thai Basil, mint and the herbs you mentioned. We also squeeze in some fresh lime or lemon.

I feel nurtured after eating this and whenever I've been ill for a while it perks me up. I hope you like it too.

This looks beautiful and Vietnamese Pho Beef noodle soup can be made in so many different variations. Your presentation of it looks outstanding too! Makes me crave it. Love your use of the wider noodles too.

This soup looks great. Couldn't agree with you more about slow cooking. I like to make pulled pork and brisket. It takes 10-12 hours to cook it and the aromas of slow cooking meat fill my apartment during the process.